


Under Belafa's Gaze

by queen_scribbles



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:00:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23530483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: Tekēhu steals the Watcher away for a quiet moment alone.
Relationships: Tekēhu/The Watcher
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	Under Belafa's Gaze

**Author's Note:**

  * For [haledamage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/haledamage/gifts).



> another tumblr prompt that got away from me. Kei and Tekēhu are so fun to write together it should be illegal. :P But I’m glad it’s not.

Never in her life had Kei encountered so many _steps_ strung together until she came to Neketaka. The long flights of stairs everywhere made even a leisurely walk a decent effort, and she wasn’t sure if that was more amusing or irritating. Not that it mattered, currently. Tekēhu was leading the way up to Periki’s Overlook with the certain stride of a man on a mission. Clearly any leisure on this outing would wait until they reached their destination. Speaking of which...

“Where exactly are we going?” she asked, skipping over a couple steps in one stride to walk next to him.

Tekēhu chuckled and reached for her hand. “Ah, but that would be telling, Captain.”

Kei shook her head as she slipped her hand into his. “I’ll know soon enough _anyway_.”

His eyes glinted in the growing moonlight when he turned to look at her. “All the more reason for me to preserve the mystery while it lasts, I say.” 

She laughed at his playful stubbornness and gave up. He was plainly excited about whatever he was planning, and far be it from her to wipe that smile from his face. Unknowns were hardly the worst thing in the world.

Besides, it didn’t take more than a handful of steps into the distract to be obvious they were heading for the Watershapers Guild. Kei bit her lip around a smile but didn’t say anything as Tekēhu guided her in that direction, freeing his hand from hers to instead press the small of her back as they passed through the front door. They didn’t even slow on the main level, instead heading for the stairs.

“Planning to give me a private tour?” she said, raising a brow suggestively.

He gave a sly grin and leaned in close to murmur, “I’d say that’s better left for your cabin, wouldn’t you, Captain?” He ever so lightly nipped her ear before he pulled back briefly rendering her speechless. A fact which only made his grin widen as they stepped out onto the balcony.

Kei gave a low whistle at the view of rising moonlight glimmering off the ocean, but Tekēhu was still walking, guiding her around the side. Her curiosity piqued now, she let him lead her along, until they came to another set of stairs, shorter and more functional than the beautifully crafted flight inside. She held back ever so briefly at the bottom.

“You know, kith lured to secluded sports rarely meet good ends,” she said glibly.

Tekēhu paused and turned to face her, his eyes almost luminous now in the ever-increasing moonlight. “Ekera, Watcher, you sound nervous,” he teased, pulling her close and running a finger lightly down the curve of her jaw.

Kei smirked and played along, leaning into his space until she’d backed him into the wall. “Just well-acquainted with the workings of the world,” she said, her chin unconsciously tipping up at his tone.

He chuckled. “Rest assured, my intentions where you’re concerned are the farthest thing from _ill._ ” The kiss he pressed to her lips was almost chaste, especially for him, and another chuckle rumbled in his chest when she followed as he pulled back. “Now, now. I thought patience was a virtue, beloved.”

Kei scowled at him(with a noticeable lack of real heat) for throwing one of her mantras back at her, but stepped back on her heel and gestured up the stairs with a near-sarcastic flourish. “Alright, then. Make it worth the wait.”

Tekēhu brushed his thumb over her cheek once more before resuming course up the narrow flight of stairs. “Ekera, Kei, that sounded like a challenge.”

“Not a challenge,” she said coyly, following him up. “Think of it as a chance to _hone your craft_ , dearest.”

He laughed at that as they reached the landing at the top of the steps. “Touché,” he said, and slid back the door’s simple bolt lock.

The room--attic?--had a thick enough coat of dust to make her sneeze(twice), and Kei wrinkled her nose. “How long since anyone’s _been_ up here?”

Tekēhu shrugged as he headed for the large, shuttered window along the Guild’s back wall. “Quite a while, I suspect. This room,my lioness, is not our goal.”

“Well, that’s a--Ah- _CHOO_!--a relief,” she said dryly, then crossed the remainder of the room in two hurried strides when he swung open the shutters and started to step through the frame. “Abydon’s Bellows, Tekēhu , what’re you _doing_?!”

“Making this worth the wait,” he replied with a playful grin, pausing when she grabbed his arm.

“Are you allowed to go out there?” Kei pressed, not letting go.

Tekēhu chuckled, finished ducking through the frame, and slipped his arm through her grasp until her palm rested against his. “I am the favored of Ngati, I can go where I wish.”

“I’m sure the rocks down there will take that into account,” she deadpanned. But she left her hand in his and stepped through after him. Despite the slope of the main roof, there was a flat part, almost a walkway of sorts, on the outside of the window. It wasn’t wide--two or three feet at most--but she could figure what he intended. “So what makes this worth the wait-”

The question died an abrupt death when she lifted her head, gaze caught by the view over the ocean cliffs that dropped away below them. Belafa was full tonight, the moon’s reflection pure and bright as it rippled over breaking waves. Stars twinkled far as the eye could see, a glittering carpet of silver points set against the velvety purple-black sky.It was _breath-taking_. Literally. For a long moment, Kei just stared, vaguely conscious of Tekēhu ‘s steadying grip, before she tore her gaze from the sky to his expectant face.

“Oh,” she said simply, at a loss to be more eloquent.

He smiled and carefully moved a short distance down the walkway, pulling her with him. “Worth the wait, dear Watcher?”

“I’ll say,” she snorted as they--just as carefully--sat on the ledge and turned their gazes back to the sky. “But time alone with you always is.”

Tekēhu beamed and reached for her hand. “You flatter me, Captain...”

“And you love it,” Kei finished for him with a grin, lacing her fingers between his.

He gave another chuckle and didn’t deny it. They sat there in silence, shoulder to shoulder, as the minutes passed. If possible, it seemed Belafa grew brighter as it continued its ascent.

Kei shifted, pressing them even more closely together, as she murmured, “You know, I’ve never sat on a roof before.”

“Never?” Tekēhu raised a brow but didn’t tease.

She shook her head and rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand. “Never had the opportunity.”

“I am pleased to be your company on your first time, then.” There was no missing the sly mischief in Tekēhu’s voice, and had they been closer to the ground, Kei might’ve shoved him off the roof.

As it was, she rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help smiling. “As am I,” she admitted with a small laugh. “It means I get you all to myself, with very good odds we won’t be interrupted.A precious resource, as things stand.”

“Ekera, I like the way you think,” he grinned, raising their intertwined hands to kiss the back of hers, lingering and with feeling.

“And I like _you_ ,” Kei countered, leaning in to kiss him. She’d waited long enough. Their hands broke apart, his bracing against the roof for balance and hers digging into his hair. The anemone-like locks wriggled in response to her touch, curling around her hand to tickle her palm. She laughed softly into the kiss at the sensation before they broke apart.

“This is good to know,” Tekēhu said. The delight in his eyes was _mesmerizing_. “For I very much like you, as well.”

“That _is_ a relief,” she teased. “So it would be safe to assume no objections to me doing that again?”

His grin widened and he lightly rested his forehead against hers. “Quite the contrary, I say. I will only object if your stop.”

Kei happily obliged, and the splendid view went unobserved for several long minutes as they each did their best to leave the other breathless.

With great success on both parts.


End file.
